Devices for applying closing or crushing forces to a cable clamp of an electrical connector are well-known. Such connectors typically have a body portion of elongated shape, and two rows of contacts extending the length of the body, to which wires of a cable are connected. At assembly, a cable is placed in a deformable or clampable cable clamp of the connector with the ends to be terminated adjacent the contacts, and the cable clamp is then squeezed to clamp it or crush it to retain the cable, before the individual wires of the cable are terminated to the individual contacts. To perform this function, a pair of opposed cylinders have heretofore been provided, and actuated in conventional fashion to clamp or crush the cable clamp. These cylinders may be maintained actuated to aid in retaining the connector in a terminating fixture, by immobilizing the cable where it enters the connector.
Such cylinders, while functional, required a time-consuming procedure to adjust, rendering them inappropriate for short production runs of particular connectors, and were also prone to develop leaks of actuating fluid, which, if hydraulic cylinders were used, contaminated the individual wires to be terminated, and, in the case of insulation-displacing contact sections, interfered with proper electrical connection. In addition, such mechanisms required a supply of pressurized fluid, increasing the heat and noise in the work place.